Rene Descartes, a French philosopher and scientist, believed that reason and rationality defined all sciences and philosophies. ... Empiricist traditions stemmed off into other forms of Enlightenment thought, such as epistemological rationalism, the philosophy that focuses upon the methods and truths of knowledge. Rationalism in ethics is the claim that certain primary moral ideas are innate in humankind and that such first moral principles are self-evident to the rational faculty. Rationalism in the philosophy of religion is the claim that the fundamental principles of religion are innate or ...

• Word Count: 2303
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Scholars in many countries found it increasingly difficult to bridge the gulf between natural and supernatural, to reconcile natural law and divine providence, and to balance moral philosophy and spiritual virtue. ... Philosophes set out to get a few things out of the way, namely Christianity, not its ethics of love and brotherhood, but its supernatural history, theology, and church. ... Around this time Spinoza was expanding a philosophy deeply marked by natural science, which was incompatible with a literal belief in the Bible. ... He wrote on philosophy, science, music, and art, and wrote n...

• Word Count: 2122
• Approx Pages: 8